Great Andamanese languages

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Great Andamanese
Geographic
distribution		Formerly on Great Andaman Island
Ethnicity Great Andamanese people
Linguistic classification One of the world's primary language families [1]
Subdivisions
Language codes
Glottolog grea1241
Schematic Map of Andamanese Languages & Tribes.png
Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman Islands. The languages with prefixes (which mean "language") are Great Andamanese. Note that on southernmost islands, Jarawa, Onge, Jangil† and possibly Sentinelese are forming the unrelated Ongan languages family).

The Great Andamanese languages are a nearly extinct language family once spoken by the Great Andamanese peoples of the northern and central Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, and part of the Andamanese sprachbund.

Contents

History

By the late 18th century, when the British first established a colonial presence on the Andaman islands, there were an estimated 5,000 Great Andamanese living on Great Andaman and surrounding islands, comprising 10 distinct tribes with distinct but closely related languages. From the 1860s onwards, the British established a penal colony on the islands, which led to the subsequent arrival of mainland settlers and indentured labourers, mainly from the Indian subcontinent. This coincided with the massive population reduction of the Andamanese due to outside diseases, to a low of 19 individuals in 1961. [2]

Since then their numbers have rebounded somewhat, reaching 52 by 2010. [3] However, by 1994 there were no remembers of any but the northern lects, [4] and divisions among the surviving tribes (Jeru, Kora, Bo and Cari) had effectively ceased to exist [5] due to intermarriage and resettlement to a much smaller territory on Strait Island. Some of them also intermarried with Karen (Burmese) and Indian settlers. Hindustani serves as their primary language. [6] [7] Some of the population spoke a koine based mainly on Aka-Jeru, but even this is only partially remembered and no longer a language of daily use. [8] [9] [10]

Aka-Kora became fully extinct in November 2009, when its last rememberer, Boro Sr, died. [11] The last semi-fluent speaker of the koine, Nao Jr., also died in 2009. [12] The last rememberer of Aka-Bo died in 2010 at age 85. [3] The last rememberer of Aka-Cari, a woman called Licho, died from chronic tuberculosis in April 2020 in Shadipur, Port Blair. [13] [14] As of reports published in 2020, there remained three heritage-speakers of Aka-Jeru. [15] [16]

Grammar

The Great Andamanese languages are agglutinative languages, with an extensive prefix and suffix system. [9] [17] They have a distinctive noun class system based largely on body parts, in which every noun and adjective may take a prefix according to which body part it is associated with (on the basis of shape, or functional association). [10] Thus, for instance, the *aka- at the beginning of the language names is a prefix for objects related to the tongue. [17] An adjectival example can be given by the various forms of yop, "pliable, soft", in Aka-Bea: [17]

Similarly, beri-nga "good" yields:

The prefixes are:

BeaBalawa?Bajigyâs?JuwoiKol
head/heartot-ôt-ote-ôto-ôto-
hand/footong-ong-ong-ôn-ôn-
mouth/tongueâkà-aka-o-ókô-o-
torso (shoulder to shins)ab-ab-ab-a-o-
eye/face/arm/breasti-, ig-id-ir-re-er-
back/leg/buttar-ar-ar-ra-a-
waistôto-

Abbi (2013: 80) lists the following body part prefixes in Great Andamanese.

ClassPartonomy of the human bodyBody class marker
1mouth and its semantic extensionsa=
2major external body partsɛr=
3extreme ends of the body (e.g., toes and fingernails)oŋ=
4bodily products and part-whole relationshipsut=
5organs inside the bodye=
6parts designating round shape or sexual organsara=
7parts for legs and related termso= ~ ɔ=

Body parts are inalienably possessed, requiring a possessive adjective prefix to complete them, so one cannot say "head" alone, but only "my, or his, or your, etc. head". [10]

The basic pronouns are almost identical throughout the Great Andamanese languages; Aka-Bea will serve as a representative example (pronouns given in their basic prefixal forms):

I, myd-we, ourm-
thou, thyŋ-you, yourŋ-
he, his, she, her, it, itsathey, theirl-

'This' and 'that' are distinguished as k- and t-.

Judging from the available sources, the Andamanese languages have only two cardinal numbers — one and two — and their entire numerical lexicon is one, two, one more, some more, and all. [17]

Phonology

The following is the sound system of the present-day Great Andamanese (PGA):

Vowels [18]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open ɑ
Consonants [19] [18]
Labial Dental Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Plosive plain p t ʈ c k
voiced b d ɖ ɟ
aspirated pʰ tʰ ʈʰ cʰ kʰ
Fricative ɸ ~ β ~ f s ʃ x
Lateral l ~ lʷ ʎ
Rhotic ɾ ~ r ɽ
Semivowel w j

It is noted that a few sounds would have changed among more recent speakers, perhaps due to the influence of Hindi. Older speakers tended to have different pronunciations than among the more younger speakers. The consonant sounds of /pʰ,kʰ,l/ were common among older speakers to pronounce them as [ɸ~f~β,x,lʷ]. The lateral /l/ sound may have also been pronounced as [ʎ]. Sounds such as a labio-velar approximant /w/, only occur within words or can be a word-final, and cannot occur as a word-initial consonant. The sounds [ɽ,β] can occur as allophones of [r,b].

Classification

The languages spoken in the Andaman islands fall into two clear families, Great Andamanese and Ongan, plus one unattested language, Sentinelese. These are generally seen as related. However, the similarities between Great Andamanese and Ongan are so far mainly of a typological morphological nature, with little demonstrated common vocabulary. As a result, even long-range researchers such as Joseph Greenberg have expressed doubts as to the validity of Andamanese as a family, [20] and Abbi (2008) [8] considers the surviving Great Andamanese language to be an isolate. The Great Andaman languages are: [21]

Joseph Greenberg proposed that Great Andamanese is related to western Papuan languages as members of a larger phylum he called Indo-Pacific, [20] but this is not generally accepted by other linguists. Stephen Wurm states that the lexical similarities between Great Andamanese and the West Papuan and certain languages of Timor "are quite striking and amount to virtual formal identity [...] in a number of instances", but considers this to be due to a linguistic substratum rather than a direct relationship. [22]

Names and spellings, with populations, from the 1901 and 1994 censuses were as follows: [23]

1901 census
Aka-Cari: 39
Aka-Cora: 96
Aka-Bo: 48
Aka-Jeru: 218
Aka-Kede: 59
Aka-Koi: 11
Oka-Juwoi: 48
Aka-Pucikwar: 50
Aka-Bale: 19
Aka-Bea: 37
1994 census
Aka-Jeru: 19
Aka-Bo: 15
Aka-Kari: 2
('local': 4)

Samples

The following poem in Aka-Bea was written by a chief, Jambu, after he was freed from a six-month jail term for manslaughter. [24]

ngô:do kûk l'àrtâ:lagî:ka,
mō:ro el:ma kâ igbâ:dàla
mō:ro el:mo lê aden:yarà
pō:-tōt läh.
Chorus: aden:yarà pō:-tōt läh.

Literally:

thou heart-sad art,
sky-surface to there looking while,
sky-surface of ripple to looking while,
bamboo spear on lean-dost.

Translation:

Thou art sad at heart,
gazing there at the sky's surface,
gazing at the ripple on the sky's surface,
leaning on the bamboo spear.

Note, however, that, as seems to be typical of Andamanese poetry, the words and sentence structure have been somewhat abbreviated or inverted in order to obtain the desired rhythmical effect.

As another example, we give part of a creation myth in Oko-Juwoi, reminiscent of Prometheus:

Kuro-t'on-mik-a

Kuro-t'on-mik-in

Mom

Mr.

Mirit-la,

Pigeon,

Bilik

God

l'ôkô-ema-t,

?-slep-t,

peakar

wood

at-lo

fire-with

top-chike

stealing-was

at

fire

laiche

the.late

Lech-lin

Lech-to

a,

he,

kotik

then

a

he

ôko-kodak-chine

?-fire-make-did

at-lo

fire-with

Karat-tatak-emi-in.

Karat-tatak-emi-at."

Kuro-t'on-mik-a Mom Mirit-la, Bilik l'ôkô-ema-t, peakar at-lo top-chike at laiche Lech-lin a, kotik a ôko-kodak-chine at-lo Karat-tatak-emi-in.

Kuro-t'on-mik-in Mr. Pigeon, God ?-slep-t, wood fire-with stealing-was fire the.late Lech-to he, then he ?-fire-make-did fire-with Karat-tatak-emi-at."

(Translated by Portman) Mr. Pigeon stole a firebrand at Kuro-t'on-mika, while God was sleeping. He gave the brand to the late Lech, who then made fires at Karat-tatak-emi.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andamanese languages</span> Languages spoken by people of the Andaman Islands

The Andamanese languages are the various languages spoken by the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. There are two known Andamanese language families, Great Andamanese and Ongan, as well as two presumed but unattested languages, Sentinelese and Jangil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-Pucikwar language</span> Extinct language of the Andaman Islands, India

The Pucikwar language, A-Pucikwar, is an extinct language of the Andaman Islands, India, formerly spoken by the Pucikwar people on the south coast of Middle Andaman, the northeast coast of South Andaman, and on Baratang Island. It belonged to the Great Andamanese family.

The Pucikwar were one of the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, one of the ten or so Great Andamanese tribes identified by British colonials in the 1860s. They spoke a distinctive Pucikwar language (A-Pucikwar) closely related to the other Great Andamanese languages. The tribe disappeared as a distinct group sometime after 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Andamanese</span> Indigenous people in the Andaman Islands

The Great Andamanese are an indigenous people of the Great Andaman archipelago in the Andaman Islands. Historically, the Great Andamanese lived throughout the archipelago, and were divided into ten major tribes. Their distinct but closely related languages comprised the Great Andamanese languages, one of the two identified Andamanese language families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Bea language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language of India

The Bea language, Aka-Bea, is an extinct Great Andamanese language of the Southern group. It was spoken around the western Andaman Strait and around the northern and western coast of South Andaman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akar-Bale language</span> Extinct Southern Great Andamanese of India

The Bale language, Akar-Bale, is an extinct Southern Great Andamanese language once spoken in the Andaman Islands in Ritchie's Archipelago, Havelock Island, and Neill Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sentinelese language</span> Presumed language of the Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island

Sentinelese is the undescribed language of the Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Due to the lack of contact between the Sentinelese people and the rest of the world, essentially nothing is known of their language or its vitality. The Sentinelese people do not allow outsiders onto the island and are generally hostile towards visitors. Friendly interactions have been rare.

The Jarawas are an indigenous people of the Andaman Islands in India. They live in parts of South Andaman and Middle Andaman Islands, and their present numbers are estimated at between 250–400 individuals. They have largely shunned interaction with outsiders, and many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are poorly understood. Since the 1990s, contacts between Jarawa groups and outsiders grew increasingly frequent. By the 2000s, some Jarawas had become regular visitors at settlements, where they trade, interact with tourists, get medical aid, and even send their children to school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ongan languages</span> Family of two Andamanese languages

Ongan, also called Angan, South Andamanese or Jarawa–Onge, is a language family which comprises two attested Andamanese languages spoken in the southern Andaman Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Kede language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language of India

The Kede language, Aka-Kede, is an extinct Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group. It was spoken in the Northern section of Middle Andaman island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Kol language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language of India

The Kol language, Aka-Kol, is an extinct Great Andamanese language, of the Central group. It was spoken in the southeast section of Middle Andaman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oko-Juwoi language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language of India

The Juwoi language, Oko-Juwoi, is an extinct Great Andamanese language, of the Central group. It was spoken in the west central and southwest interior of Middle Andaman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Bo language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language

The Bo language, Aka-Bo, was a Great Andamanese language. It was spoken on the west central coast of North Andaman and on North Reef Island of the Andaman Islands in India. It was recorded as being mutually intelligible with Aka-Jeru, and the vocabularies are very similar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Cari language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language

The Cari, Chariar or Sare language, also known as Aka-Cari, is an extinct Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group, which was spoken by the Cari people, one of a dozen Great Andamanese peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Jeru language</span> Nearly extinct Great Andamanese language

The Jeru language, Aka-Jeru, is a moribund Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group. Jeru was spoken in the interior and south coast of North Andaman and on Sound Island. A koiné of Aka-Jeru and other northern Great Andamanese languages was once spoken on Strait Island; the last semi-fluent speaker of this, Nao Jr., died in 2009. Aka-Jeru is the last surviving member of the Great Andamanese languages. According to a grammar on Aka-Jeru, it and Aka-Cari are dialects of a singular language, with lexical correspondency between the two at 93%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aka-Kora language</span> Extinct Great Andamanese language

The Kora (Cora) language, Aka-Kora, is an extinct Great Andamanese language, of the Northern group. It was spoken on the northeast and north central coasts of North Andaman and on Smith Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarawa language (Andaman Islands)</span> Language of India

Järawa or Jarwa is one of the Ongan languages. It is spoken by the Jarawa people inhabiting the interior and south central Rutland Island, central interior, and south interior South Andaman Island, and the west coast of Middle Andaman Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boa Sr</span> Last fluent speaker of Aka-Bo (c. 1925 – 2010)

Boa Sr was an Indian Great Andamanese elder. She was the last person fluent in the Aka-Bo language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kora people</span>

The Kora, Khora or Cora were one of the ten Indigenous tribes of the Great Andamanese people, originally living on the eastern part of North Andaman Island in the Indian Ocean. The tribe is now extinct, although some of the remaining Great Andamanese on Strait Island claim to have Kora ancestors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anvita Abbi</span> Indian linguist and scholar

Professor Anvita Abbi is an Indian linguist and scholar of minority languages, known for her studies on tribal languages and other minority languages of South Asia. In 2013, she was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India for her contributions to the field of linguistics.

References

  1. ↑ Blevins, Juliette (2007), "A Long Lost Sister of Proto-Austronesian? Proto-Ongan, Mother of Jarawa and Onge of the Andaman Islands" (PDF), Oceanic Linguistics, 46 (1): 154–198, doi:10.1353/ol.2007.0015, S2CID   143141296, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-11
  2. ↑ Jayanta Sarkar (1990), The Jarawa, Anthropological Survey of India, ISBN   81-7046-080-8, ... The Great Andamanese population was large till 1858 when it started declining ... In 1901, their number was reduced to only 600 and in 1961 to a mere 19 ...
  3. 1 2 (2011) Lives Remembered. The Daily Telegraph, London, 10 February 2010. Accessed on 2010-02-22. Also on web.archive.org
  4. ↑ A. N. Sharma (2003), Tribal Development in the Andaman Islands , page 75. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi.
  5. ↑ Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (1922). The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  6. ↑ Anosh Malekar, "The case for a linguisitic survey," Infochange Media, August 1, 2011. [usurped]
  7. ↑ Abbi, Anvita, Bidisha Som and Alok Das. 2007. "Where Have All The Speakers Gone? A Sociolinguistic Study of the Great Andamanese." Indian Linguistics, 68.3-4: 325-343.
  8. 1 2 Abbi, Anvita (2008). "Is Great Andamanese genealogically and typologically distinct from Onge and Jarawa?" Language Sciences, doi : 10.1016/j.langsci.2008.02.002
  9. 1 2 Abbi, Anvita (2006). Endangered Languages of the Andaman Islands. Germany: Lincom GmbH.
  10. 1 2 3 "Burenhult, Niclas (1996). "Deep linguistic prehistory with particular reference to Andamanese." Working Papers 45, 5-24. Lund University: Department of Linguistics". Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  11. ↑ "Andamanese tribes, languages die". The Hindu . February 5, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  12. ↑ Mixed Great Andamanese at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  13. ↑ International, Survival (1 June 2020). "The last speaker of the Sare language has died". Medium. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  14. ↑ Mourning the death of a language amid the pandemic, Straits Times, 2020 June 3
  15. ↑ Aka-Jeru at Ethnologue (23rd ed., 2020) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  16. ↑ Abbi, Anvita (30 April 2020). "The Pandemic Also Threatens Endangered Languages". scientificamerican.com. Scientific American. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Temple, Richard C. (1902). A Grammar of the Andamanese Languages, being Chapter IV of Part I of the Census Report on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Superintendent's Printing Press: Port Blair.
  18. 1 2 Abbi, Anvita (2013). A Grammar of the Great Andamanese Language. Brill's Studies in South and Southwest Asian Languages, Volume 4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  19. ↑ Yadav, Yogendra (1985). Great Andamanese: a preliminary study. Canberra: The Australian National University.: Pacific Linguistics. pp. 185–214.
  20. 1 2 Greenberg, Joseph (1971). "The Indo-Pacific hypothesis." Current trends in linguistics vol. 8, ed. by Thomas A. Sebeok, 807.71. The Hague: Mouton.
  21. ↑ Manoharan, S. (1983). "Subgrouping Andamanese group of languages." International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics XII(1): 82-95.
  22. ↑ "Wurm, S.A. (1977). New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study, Volume 1: Papuan Languages and the New Guinea Linguistic Scene. Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra". Archived from the original on 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  23. ↑ A. N. Sharma (2003), Tribal Development in the Andaman Islands , page 62. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi.
  24. ↑ Man, E.H. (1923). Dictionary of the South Andaman Language. British India Press: Bombay

Bibliography

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